1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to art portrayals, and in particular to art portrayals with an image of a Christmas tree having a light emitting source affixed to the art portrayal.
2. Description of Related Art
The tradition of the Christmas tree is well established in many societies across the globe. During the holiday season, it is a tradition to construct some variation of a Christmas tree in one's home. Yet it is not always a simple task to construct a Christmas tree for numerous reasons.
Many families opt to purchase or cut down a real tree for their home. The process of getting a real tree is a physically demanding task. One must either travel to the wilderness to cut down a tree, or travel to a tree broker and purchase a tree. In either case the tree must be put in one's vehicle and transported home. This physically demanding task is usually done by the most physically active member of the family, typically the head of the household. Yet, many people cannot transport such a large and heavy object. Once a real Christmas tree is retrieved, it is another task to set it up. This feat requires not only physical stamina, but experience to properly level and secure the tree with minimal readjustment.
A real Christmas tree must also be disposed of after the holidays. Disposing of a brittle Christmas tree can be more hassle than setting it up. A dead tree must be disposed of quickly, because it can easily be a major fire hazard in one's home. The needles become brittle and the tree can easily catch fire and burn, particularly because most trees have electrically powered lights hung on them. Major cleaning must be done where the tree once stood. Furthermore, many trash companies do not take a whole tree. The tree must be sawed into smaller pieces and fit within the standard size trash receptacle before many trash companies will dispose of it.
To avoid the hassle of securing a real Christmas tree, many families opt for purchasing an artificial Christmas tree. Such a tree can be stored during the summer season, and reassembled during the holidays. An artificial Christmas tree is usually less expensive when factoring the cost savings over numerous years of use, but even an artificial tree can be expensive. An artificial tree is not hassle free either as it also takes time and effort to assemble. Each branch must be secured within an artificial tree trunk. This process can take hours to assemble a moderately sized tree. Also, artificial trees must be stored, which imposes upon the limited amount of storage space owned by most people.
In either case, real or artificial, Christmas trees take time to decorate. In many families, it is a family chore to decorate and prepare the tree. Lights and decorations can take a whole day to be placed upon a tree. After the holidays, all the lights and decorations must be taken down and stored until the next holiday. Storing the decorations also takes up space in one's home.
Both artificial and real Christmas trees take up space. In today's crowded world, many households do not have the room to setup a full-sized Christmas tree. Many households, lack the room to setup even a miniature Christmas tree. Even a miniature Christmas tree takes up some floor space. For some households who have very limited space, they can put up a flat cloth tree in lieu of a real tree. The cloth tree can be hung over a mantle or against a door taking up very little space. However, this cloth tree is a poor substitute for a real tree due to its substandard appearance. Cloth trees are made from thick yarn and tend to look cheap and childish. Furthermore, cloth trees are not strung with Christmas tree lights, the hallmark of a Christmas tree. Due to all of the above mentioned shortcomings, many households do not put up a tree at all. For example dormitory rooms, military barracks, hospital rooms, senior citizen homes, small apartments and offices rarely have any form of a Christmas tree due to the space restrictions and inconvenience considerations.
There are posters manufactured today that contain some variation of a holiday related scene. These posters are similar to any common poster that one would place in the home or office as wall art. The posters are manufactured by printing an image on top of a paper substrate. These posters do not function as a replacement for a Christmas tree for many reasons. The size of the poster is usually smaller than that of a Christmas tree. The poster's image does not realistically or stylistically resemble a Christmas tree. Moreover, the poster does not contain any Christmas tree lights.
It can be seen, then, that there is a need for a Christmas tree substitute that can be cheaply purchased, compactly stored, and easily set up. It can be seen that this Christmas tree substitute is to be used in locations where space is at a premium. There is also a need for this Christmas tree substitute to have some form of light emitting source so it creates a light effect similar to a decorated Christmas tree. It can also be seen that there is a need for this Christmas tree substitute to be thin and capable of being placed along walls and doors to avoid taking up floor space.